Minami Hokkeji Temple (Tsubosakadera)

Minami Hokkeji Temple (Tsubosakadera)

Minami Hokkeji Temple (南法華寺), commonly called Tsubosakadera, stands in the hills of Tsubosaka in Takatori Town, Nara Prefecture, and keeps two Important Cultural Properties: a three-storied pagoda of 1497 and a worship hall of the mid-Muromachi period (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The pagoda was designated an Important Cultural Property on April 14, 1906, and the hall was designated an Important Cultural Property on June 27, 1959.

Nara Prefecture's official tourism site describes it as an old Shingon temple and the sixth stop on the Saikoku pilgrimage of 33 Kannon temples, founded by tradition in 703. Its main image, the Eleven-Headed Thousand-Armed Kannon, has long drawn worshippers praying for help with eye ailments (Saikoku 33 Pilgrimage).

The Two Buildings

The pagoda, built in 1497, is three bays wide and three storeys high under hongawara tiles (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The raido, or worship hall, stands in front of the octagonal main hall of the late Edo period and is judged from its style to be about the same age as the pagoda. A worship hall built separately from the main hall is unusual (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Each building is described on its own page.

Visiting

Tsubosakadera says the gates are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day of the year. Admission is 800 yen for adults and 200 yen up to high school age, free for children 5 and under; allow about 50 minutes for a visit.

On weekends and holidays a bus runs from Kintetsu Tsubosakayama Station to the Tsubosakadera-mae stop. On weekdays that bus no longer runs: take a bus from Kintetsu Kashiharajingu-mae or Tsubosakayama Station to Tsubosakadera-guchi and walk 30 minutes, or take a taxi (Tsubosakadera). There is paid parking at the temple.

In autumn the ground storey of the pagoda is sometimes opened; in 2026 the special viewing runs from October 10 to December 6 (Nara Prefecture official tourism site).